How the Broken Media Helped Break the Government

[Commentary] There's a direct connection between the shutdown and hyperbolic, partisan journalistic outlets driven more by profits than the search for truth. Creating cable television and social media bubbles where one’s political views are affirmed has proven popular and profitable. Angrily declaring one’s opponents imbeciles enriches pundits, corporate executives and stockholders. The result for many Americans, though, is confusion, cynicism and division. There are some reasons for hope. The emergence of non-profit news outlets and the web’s breadth of information and instant accountability are promising. But simplistic, reassuring narratives are more profitable than dispassionate descriptions of complex public policy problems. For a collapsing, digital-age news industry desperate for income, partisanship is an economic lifeline.

[David Rohde is a columnist for Reuters and a former reporter for The New York Times]